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June 2009
As far as anyone knew, Taiki was still somewhere in the 'void' between Kinmoku and the outer reaches of the Sol system. His last transmission had him this side of the halfway point, so he should be arriving within three months at top speeds. Unfortuantely there had been interference and there was no way to accurately measure the distance.
Little did any of them know that at that very moment, Taiki was already on Earth and had been for nearly half a year. With no way to contact the other ships or of reaching the outside world, StarMaker and the survivors of her ship had no way of knowing that the object of their search was barely a few hundred miles away and that at least two Guard ships were in orbit on the dark side of Earth's moon.
The refugees had begun to learn English, after Taiki let it slip to the base's commander that she understood him. When asked why she hadn't spoken in English before, she lied and said that she had picked up a few phrases by listening to everyone around her, but it had taken a while for her to become familiar enough to try and speak it. After they managed to learn enough to carry on conversations with the guards, the few problems they had, all but stopped. There was still one or two outbursts every now and then, but as StarMaker had explained to the Commander, that came from being cooped up in an underground base for several months.
So, that is why the Commander, after conferring with the President and the rest of the higher-ups began allowing the refugees access to certain areas of the base. Most items such as planes, jeeps, etc. had been removed from the base just so that they could house the pieces of the ship. StarMaker had asked and was granted permission to oversee the repair of the main computer system as long as she agreed to share certain information contained inside. She agreed to the Commander's request, as long as he allowed her to choose what data she shared. She made it absolutely clear to the Commander that any information on weapons and the ship itself was off the table. That left her with information on at least a dozen alien races, star charts and several advanced technologies to bargain with.
That is why the Commander knew exactly where to find her, in the only place she had ever forbidden her four foster children from going. "Lady StarMaker, can I speak with you for a moment?" The base Commander stood warily on the ship's bridge, eyeing several pieces of melted hull that had become lodged in the various controls during entry.
StarMaker looked up from the console she was working on and motioned for the young technician that was helping her to work on another console. "Of course Commander, what did you want to talk about?"
The Commander waited until the technician had moved out of earshot, then sighed. "I was going over some of the information you had given our team and ... well, it looked like there was some information that got in there that I don't think you intended." He handed her a disc that she loaded into the laptop she had connected to the ship. "It looks like it's some kind of old movie or something you must have picked up."
"Movie? I don't remember loading any movies into what I gave you." StarMaker began playing the disc, but paused it as soon as she saw the opening scene. She stared at the screen for several moments, then looked up at the Commander. "I ... are you sure that this was with the information I gave you?"
"Actually, no, it wasn't. It was brought to my attention by one of my crew who happened to live in Japan about 12 years ago. You see around that time there were a lot of ... strange incidents that happened. And there were also a lot of reports of strange women in short black outfits." The Commander watched her for several moments, then smiled. "No one knew who they were and they vanished just as suddenly as they appeared. Kind of like the stars of that movie."
StarMaker glanced up from the video to see the Commander watching her. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't know what you're talking about?" When he shook his head, she sighed and leaned against the bulkhead. "There were some of our people here for a very short time. It was a ... rescue mission."
The Commander nodded slightly. "I thought it must be something like that. So, just one last question ... does the name Sailor Moon mean anything to you?"
StarMaker dropped the tool she had been holding. "It is a name I have heard of."
"I thought you might," the Commander replied. "If you'd like, I could arrange to have a message sent to her on your behalf. IF she is a ... friend of yours?"
StarMaker picked up the tool she had been using, turning back to the console for several minutes. She was debating whether or not the Commander could be trying to trick her, but as of yet, everything he had said or done was on the level. "I ... would appreciate that. She is ... a very good friend of ours."
The Commander nodded, looking up as he heard the door to inner part of the ship open. He smiled at the blonde that had just entered the bridge. "Ah, good morning, Miss Lin. I'm glad to see that you're feeling better."
Lin smiled slightly, leaning against the wall. She had mostly recovered from whatever it had been that made her sick, but was still rather weak. "Thank you," she replied, in English. "Doctor said would be days before self."
"She means the doctor told her it would take a few days before she was back to her old self," StarMaker replied. She removed the Commander's disk from the computer and put in a blank one. "This should be the last of it. I don't think any more of the data is salvageable."
"That's alright. Even a little data will go a long way to helping our doctors help your friends. Speaking of which, that friend I told you about, just drop by my office this afternoon and I'll see what I can do. Bring the data with you then."
StarMaker nodded her thanks as the Commander left the ship. She had told the Commander her suspicions about the blonde and he had arranged for her to be kept under close surveillance at all times. Since she had been sick, nearly dead, for several months, it had been easy. The doctors had used the files from Taiki's ship on Hrrrrunai anatomy to realize that the problem was that Lin was apparently allergic to some of the human food they had been served. They were still putting the blonde through tests to determine just exactly what it was she was allergic to. "You really should be sleeping, Lin."
"But you need help," Lin replied. She sat in what remained of the chair and glanced at the display. "Why are you giving them this information?"
"Because they need it. Why are you complaining? If they didn't have the information on the Hrrrrunai, you would probably be dead by now." StarMaker glanced around the bridge and sighed. "Besides, it's not like we can exactly leave. This is our home for now. It's best to cooperate with them."
Lin nodded dumbly for several moments. She had realized that StarMaker now knew she was Hrrrrunai, but they had never discussed it, nor the consequences. "Lady StarMaker ... when did you-"
"Know what you are? When you and Gai pulled me from the ship." StarMaker removed the disc from the laptop when it was finished saving then stood. "Go back to your quarters and stay there. So far, there is nothing against you, but if the others find out ..."
Lin lowered her eyes to the deck of the bridge. "I understand." She waited until the redhead was gone, then glared after her. 'Lord Meiya was right ... she is a spineless wimp.'
Nov. 1, 2009 - Tokyo
Spending an entire day with four hyperactive teenagers was something that Seiya hadn't done since he had been roped into going shopping with Usagi and her friends one day after school. Of course, then, there hadn't been a five-year old with them and he had been practically mobbed by every teenage girl in the city. He was suddenly glad he had become an unknown singer when he saw the sheer number of teenage and young women standing outside of a music store. He was also glad that only one of the girls with him seemed to have an interest in seeing what the big deal was.
Unlike her cousins, Tanetomi wasn't bothered by large crowds. She grinned at the others before walking up to one girl and asking, "What's going on?"
"You don't know!? Only the hottest band in history is here today signing autographs!" The girl pointed to a sign that read 'The Peasants are Revolting TODAY ONLY!!'
"Never heard of 'em," Tanetomi suddenly felt about twenty pairs of eyes on her as all the girls that heard her turned around. She held up her hands defensively and smiled. "But then again, I'm not from around here."
The girl she had spoken to smiled and the others turned their attention back to the store as the line moved a fraction of an inch. "That's rather obvious. So, who's the stud you and your friends are hanging out with? He looks a little old to be hanging out with high school kids." Thinking the other girl was European, if not American, she extended her hand to the girl with strange blue hair. "I'm Setsuka by the way."
Tanetomi chuckled, shaking her hand. "My name's Tanetomi. The 'stud' as you called him is my uncle, Seiya Kou. The other girls are my cousins. The older black-haired girl is Usami-chan. The brunette is Miyo-chan and the blonde is Shi-chan. The little girl next to her is Rei-chan."
"Seiya Kou? As in the 'Three Lights'?" Setsuka glanced back at the group of aliens for a moment before grabbing Tanetomi's hand and pulling her toward them. "You have to introduce me."
"But I thought you were waiting to meet someone over there."
Setsuka shrugged, glancing back to where her friends were staring at her. "Oh, they're just an idol group. Your 'uncle' is a Legend."
Tanetomi glanced over at her cousins and shrugged when they started giving her strange looks. As soon as they were close enough, she introduced her new friend to the others. Setsuka practically giggled as she asked Seiya for his autograph.
The former singer smiled a little, then signed the book Setsuka had shyly held out. "There you go. 'Tomi-chan, we have to be going now. It was nice meeting you, Setsuka-san."
The girls said their goodbyes as Setsuka ran back across the road to show her newest possession to her friends. Shi frowned when she heard screaming and turned around to see Setsuka's friends jumping up and down. "I don't think I'll ever understand humans," she replied, glancing down at the five-year old beside her.
After walking around most of the city with, thankfully, no one else recognizing him, Seiya was glad to get back to the 'Black Dragon B&B'. The owner was a woman in her mid-thirties and had been more than willing to let the group of travellers rent the entire top floor, including the small kitchen and living room, of the three-story building. She was checking in a couple on their 'second honeymoon' when Seiya and the girls came back. She smiled as the older girls ran past the desk and up the stairs, each with several shopping bags in each hand. "Long day, Tamura-san?"
Seiya nodded, repressing an involuntary flinch at the name. It had been his idea not to use his real name, even though he hated being called by the name of his late spouse. "I forgot how exhausting shopping with teenagers can be," he replied quietly. He carefully sat down on the couch, trying not to wake Rei, who had fallen asleep halfway through the mall. He noticed the older couple was smiling at him and returned the smile. "My sisters and nieces have much more energy than we do."
"Youth always does," the older woman replied. From her accent, it was easy to tell she was European, probably from France, if Seiya's memory was working correctly.
Shi came bouncing down the stairs, sobering once she saw the older couple on their way up. She walked over to Seiya and reached out her arms for the younger girl. "Miyo-chan wants to know what you want for dinner. Or are you going to sleep down here all night?"
Seiya made a face at his youngest 'sister' as she took Rei, then stood. "I'm coming. I'm not like the four of you, my energy now is limited."
"Well, it's not our fault you're getting old, Onii-chan." Shi grinned at the older man then started toward the stairs. "Oh, Kakyuu-sama's not back, either. Usami-chan asked me to check and see if she left a note."
"I'll check," Seiya replied. He rolled his eyes at the blonde then walked over to the desk.
The older lady had been listening and handed him a folded piece of paper. "Your friend left this this morning and asked me to give it to you if she didn't get back before you did."
"Arigatou." Seiya opened the letter and noticed that it was written in their native language. He frowned slightly at what he saw in the note then sighed. "She's gone to America to try to look at another house."
"I thought you and your friends were looking for a place here in Tokyo."
Seiya shook his head slightly. "We had a place, from a long time ago, but it's nowhere near big enough. Plus, the rest of our family is in California now and we haven't seen them in a very long time. I had almost given up hope of seeing them again."
Nov. 2009 - California
Less than a week after his shopping trip with the girls, Seiya found himself sitting in the main room of a rather large mansion in California, talking with friends he hadn't seen in two decades. It had been luck that a familiar voice had answered the phone that morning, rather than the short-fused woman he had learned was named Olivia, and in the silence that followed after he had said 'Hello Venus', he feared that the connection had been lost. "When did you say Usagi-chan will be back?"
"In a few minutes," Minako replied. When she first got the call, she had asked Beruche if it was another one of their tricks, but the other woman had denied any knowledge of it. A few minutes and some very interesting questions later, she had asked the singer to come to California. "I hope you don't expect things to be like they were when you left, Seiya-san."
"I know about Chiba-san," the former singer replied. "If that is what you are referring to."
"Partially. A lot of things have changed in a very short time."
"For all of us. I don't expect things to be the same. How could they be? It has been twelve years after all. At least for this world."
Minako nodded slightly. She was about to say something else when she heard the familiar squeak of Usagi's wheelchair coming up to the doorway. She stood and smiled at her leader. "Usagi-chan, you have a visitor."
Seiya stood and turned to face her. "Hello, Odango," he said, managing a slight smile.
Usagi stared at him for several moments before Rei, obviously pregnant, beaned her with a pillow from the couch. "Don't just sit there catching flies all day. Say something. He's come halfway across the universe to see you," the former priestess replied, smiling slightly.
"Hello, Seiya-san," Usagi replied. She grabbed the pillow and threw it back at Rei before wheeling herself over next to the couch. She motioned for him and Minako to sit down before continuing. "I'm sure you came for much more than that. Why have you come exactly?"
Seiya sighed slightly. He had expected a slightly warmer reaction from his old friends, but he could not fault them for worrying. The last time he had come to Earth, after all, had been in another attempt to save his home. "I guess there's no point in giving you the cover story. We came to find you, Usagi-chan, because our world is in trouble," he replied. "We need the help of Sailor Moon to take back Kinmoku."
"To take back Kinmoku?" asked Usagi, sounding much older now. "From who? I thought Kinmoku was an empty place, destroyed by Galaxia like so many other worlds. Weren't you going to try to rebuild it somehow?"
"It rebuilt itself while we were away," said Seiya. "There were some survivors besides us, and the destruction was not as bad as we had feared. But yes, Kinmoku was empty. Empty of life. Other races began to call it home and before we knew it, they outnumbered those of us that were left."
Seiya went on to describe the conflicts over Kinmoku, between the outnumbered Kinmokunai and the settlers, and between different groups of settlers. "We finally decided to ally ourselves with one of the settler groups, the Hrrrrunai. They were strong warriors, but had no senshi among them, so had been ignored by Galaxia. It seemed to work out well at first, but then Hrrrrunai began to arrive in greater and greater numbers, driving out other races we called friends. Fighting soon began again. More than a dozen armed factions formed."
"Most of the factions were yours, weren't they," remarked Minako, the General of old asserting itself once again.
"Yes. Kakyuu-sama tried to stop them at first. But then we began to see the true faces of our newest 'allies'. Hrrrrunai reprisals grew so great, she began leading the resistance, forming the remaining factions into one unit. But the Hrrrrunai were many and even with other races, we were few. Finally the Princess agreed to peace. We were to take anyone who did not wish to live under the Hrrrrunai rulers and leave the system. More than a million chose to leave. But we were attacked as we left, by a rebellious faction within the Hrrrrunai fleet according to the relayed Hrrrrunai communications we have received since, but it might have been their Empress herself who ordered the attack. With all the resistance in the evacuation fleet, our people remaining on Kinmoku are helpless."
"Are they all being killed?" asked Usagi. It had been phrased a question, but she wasn't really asking.
"Not outright," Seiya admitted. "But they will be under the Hrrrrunai thumb now."
"But they will live on. Memories of the war will fade, and they will adapt. Your people are not that different from the Hrrrrunai. You can even have children with one another, can't you, Seiya-san?"
Seiya was startled by that remark. "Yes. It has not happened often, though ..." He could feel the presence of a telepath in his mind and forced himself to focus. He could not afford to be distracted. This talk with old friends seemed to be going nowhere, so it was now the time for formality. He stood from the couch, moved closer to Usagi, then went down on one knee. "Sovereign of this system, will you help us take back our world?"
Usagi frowned. She had been able to get a few images from Seiya's mind, but that was all. He apparently had experience with a telepath. And she didn't like the sudden formal tone his actions had taken. "No. It is no longer just your world. We can't drag the Earth into a war that isn't our business."
"But they attacked-" It was Rei's turn to frown as Minako held up a hand to cut her off.
"Usagi-chan is right here, Rei-chan. To defeat their enemies we would have to kill many of them, perhaps even destroy some of their worlds." Minako glanced at Seiya. "You said they were strong warriors. I know how strong you and the other Lights are. For you to fear standing up to them on your own ... I do not think these Hrrrrunai would give up without a very long, hard fight."
"Hai," said Usagi, picking up the argument. "It is a dishonorable thing that has been done, but we are not sure who did it and perhaps we should not look now. I'm sure we can find homes for your people, but they won't be allowed to carry on their war from here."
Seeing the brief pillow fight a few moments before had almost convinced Seiya that this was the odango of old, but now she sounded like ...
"Very well, Sovereign," Seiya said, standing. "But I will continue to try to persuade you, on behalf of Kinmoku, and on behalf of myself."
"Our ears are open," said Usagi, "But you will not change our minds about this."
Seiya stared at the three Senshi for several moments. "Does this have to do with all of those people outside? I know that they do not know you are to be their Sovereign yet, but-"
"I am not going to be their ruler, Seiya-san. Not now and not ever," said odango atama, with as much or more royal authority in her voice as Seiya once remembered hearing in the voice of Kakyuu's mother.
Minako and Rei both stiffened at the tone, giving Seiya a brief glimpse of what his friends' lives had been like during his absence. He did not like what he saw.
Unexpectedly, it was Rei who spoke next. "Why don't you stay a few days, Seiya-san? We have quite a lot to catch up on. You are not the only one among us who has lived through more than we should have, you know."
"Perhaps later," Seiya replied, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I have ... duties elsewhere." He bowed to the three woman before quickly walking out of the room. 'Why are they refusing? I thought for sure they would help us.'
Usagi watched Seiya until he was at the outer door and then looked at Rei. "I know what you're thinking Rei-chan, and it won't work. Having him stay here will not convince me to help them fight their opponents. We have enough wars here on our own world."
Rei sighed slightly. "The least you could do is talk to him. Would it hurt you to do that? They are our friends, after all. I'm sure we could let them stay here."
"There are over a million of his people on their way," Usagi replied. "Quite a few more than I think we can fit in the loft. And not all of them look like Seiya-san. I think aliens would definitely get the attention of the reporters and the Reverend. Those thoughts were so apparent, I'm surprised the two of you couldn't read them."
Minako shrugged and walked over to the window where she could see Seiya standing on the front porch, having a brief discussion with Olivia. "We could wind up fighting anyway. Their enemies will probably find their way here eventually. Just like She did."
Usagi nodded. "If they are foolish enough to want a war with us, then we will give them one. A short one, I think. Alvarson-sama would fight with us to defend this world." As she talked, she wheeled herself over to join Minako, looking out. "But I would like our old friends to visit. Perhaps they will understand better after they live among us again for a time."
Rei nodded. "Then that is what we'll do. I'll help Olivia-chan set up one of the extra rooms for him," she replied. She stood and rubbed her sore back for a moment before turning to leave the room.
Usagi remarked automatically, "Don't do too much." Then a devilish grin appeared. Rei fought with Olivia more than she fought with Usagi. "You are not a great one for house chores, and now you want to help Olivia-chan? Which one of the Lights are you after, Rei-chan? Seiya-san, Taiki-san, or Yaten-san?"
Pillows started flying again.
